PITTSBURGH (2)

Wednesday

? A New Castle man pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges Tuesday, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan.

Robert Ratkovich, 40, of 512 Norwood Ave. pleaded guilty to charges of bank and mail fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh.

The board of directors of Affordable Housing of Lawrence County hired Ratkovich as a consultant on property purchases, but prosecutors said he simply advised them to buy seven properties whose prices had been set by a co-conspirator, who received kickbacks from sellers.

Ratkovich and others gave false information to First Commonwealth Bank so that Affordable Housing could receive loans to make the purchases.

Among those indicted in the scheme was former Lawrence County Treasurer Gary Felasco, who pleaded guilty in February to a misdemeanor count of failure to file an income tax return in 2005 and agreed to help with the federal corruption investigation. Felasco already had served a year in state prison on charges that he misused county funds.

Sentencing for Ratkovich is scheduled for Oct. 28. He faces up to 50 years in prison and a fine of $1.5 million, or both.

? A federal judge sentenced a Coraopolis man to 46 months in prison Tuesday after the manís conviction on conspiracy and tax evasion charges, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan in Pittsburgh.

Leon Truskowski, 38, of 1217 Vance Ave. was convicted of wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and tax evasion. He also faces three years of probation after heís released.

Prosecutors said that Truskowski, who owned Peopleís Home Mortgage, and co-conspirators submitted loan applications with false information, including inflated appraisals and incomes of borrowers. Financial institutions lost more than $1 million in the scheme.

Also, Truskowski used shell companies to avoid paying taxes, according to court documents.

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